Management/Operators

IALEI, IAAPA to Merge

Preliminary transition plans announced.

Required approvals are in place and officials from the International Association for the Leisure and Entertainment Industry (IALEI) and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) are moving forward to dissolve IALEI and merge the IALEI membership into IAAPA.

According to an official press release, a transition team made up of members of IALEI and IAAPA will guide the formal transition of member services in the coming weeks. Several transition-related issues have already been resolved, including:

All current members of IALEI will automatically qualify for IAAPA member benefits starting Nov. 1, 2009, and effective for one year, until Dec. 31, 2010.

Current IALEI members will also receive free registration for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 in Las Vegas, Nov. 16-20. During the Expo, they can participate in general education and the education track for family entertainment centers (FECs), made up of 16 different seminars and programs, at no additional cost.

IAAPA’s FEC committee will be reconfigured to coordinate and oversee membership development and service for FECs. The committee will be made up of equal representation from current IAAPA FEC members and members of IALEI. IALEI board chair, Dorothy Lewis, will chair the IAAPA FEC Committee starting in 2010.

As IALEI has in the past, IAAPA will work closely with the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) to produce FunExpo 2010 with the William T. Glasgow company managing the event. FunExpo 2010 will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The FEC section of the IAAPA web site will be redesigned and upgraded. It will offer additional services and be accessible via a new URL,www.iaapa.org/FEC.

IAAPA will host a minimum of four webinars for free specifically designed for FEC members in 2010.

In 2010, IAAPA will conduct research similar to the IALEI State of the Industry report and make it available to FEC members.

“Throughout this process, our focus was on doing what is best for the members of IALEI,” said Dorothy Lewis, chair of IALEI, in the press releaase. “We believe dissolving IALEI and merging into IAAPA is the best long-term option for our members and the FEC industry overall.”
“We are pleased to welcome the members of IALEI to IAAPA,” added Charles Bray, president and CEO of IAAPA. “We look forward to working together for the continued growth and development of the FEC industry.”